The present invention relates generally to optical systems for use in vehicles, and more particularly, to improved side viewing optical systems for use in vehicles, such as cars, busses, trucks and boats, and the like.
Substantially all currently produced passenger vehicles and busses have two or three mirrors that are used to view behind or on the side of the vehicle. However, "blind areas" located on the left and right sides of the vehicles are relatively difficult to see. Some drivers use the interior windshield-mounted rear view mirror to view to the rear of the vehicle, while the side view mirrors are aimed at the blind areas. However, if the mirror is planar, such as is typically the case for the driver's side mirror, the complete side of the vehicle cannot be seen even if the mirror is aimed at what is believed to be the blind area. Furthermore, because the blind area is actually relatively large in some cases, not all vehicles are visible in a side view mirror that is aimed at the blind area. In some cases, right side mirrors are convex which provides a greater viewing angle when viewing the side of the vehicle. However, concave mirrors cause the image in the mirror to be smaller and the location of any vehicle seen in the concave side view mirror is closer than it appears to be, which is potentially dangerous if one wishes to change lanes to the right. For these reasons, a concave side view mirror is not used on the driver's side of the vehicle.
More particularly, convex rear view mirrors, side and interior-mounted mirrors, have been conventionally used to provide an improved view of the side of the vehicle. Also, wide-angle Fresnel lenses bonded on rear windows of cars and campers have been widely used to provide an improved view of the side of the vehicle. Even though these popular devices somewhat increase the angular scene coverage, they all require head rotation away from the normal driving position for viewing and are frequently obscured by car structures and objects in the vehicle.
Therefore, it would be an advantage to have a side viewing system for use in passenger vehicles and busses that permit viewing of a wider field of view that fully encompasses the driver's blind areas and makes it visible to the driver. Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide for improved side-viewing optical systems for use in vehicles, such as cars, busses, trucks and boats, and the like.